This week, the sale of the world's first commercially-available 8k television made the BBC news headlines - 8k??? I've only just got my head around 4k!
Before I lose you all, let me explain. 4k television is Ultra-high-definition television content such as movies or photography which had been recorded in, and can be displayed in high definition with about 4 times as many pixels as Full-HD content. Most television sets in households up and down the country can display Full HD content such as that broadcast by the BBC and Sky on their dedicated HD channels (and once you've started watching in HD, you find it very hard to go back).
In the past year, 4k Ultra HD (which shows around 4 times as many pixels as Full HD) has really taken off and many new televisions in the Panasonic Viera range now feature their 4k pro technology as standard. Broadcasters such as Netflix are now committing to a wave of new 4k content and even home 4k video and still cameras are becoming more affordable. 8k however seems like a very long way off! Only a trickle of movie content is starting to be filmed in 8k. I don't think I'll be saving for an 8k TV for some years to come!
Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be invited, as part of the Viera VIP Club, to explore the world of 4k televisions at IFA in Berlin. We met the men behind the technology that makes Panasonic's 4k pro technology stand streets ahead of the other 4k televisions. Trust me, I saw enough TVs that day and not one of them came close to the Panasonic Viera OLED CZ950 4k Pro television.
The secret, they say, is that the "pro" in their 4k pro technology explains how they spend many long hours working with film making professionals from Hollywood to make sure that their TVs represent the colours of the pictures exactly as the director originally intended. Until the massive screens and huuuuge data storage requirements of 8k can be shrunk to fit into our front rooms, 4k pro is as close as you or I can get to the full cinematic experience.
